First things first: Fridays at Five this week (1/9) is at Noli's Italian Cafe (located at 5th street Market. See you there!

Now....Is the sky really falling???

I think not. There are some sound strategies out there for marketing through a recession -
I hate to beat a horse to death (really, how gross and inhumane) but here are some tips for yu:

1. Analyze your efforts. What is working, what isn't? Do more of what's working and eliminate what isn't.
2. Ensure strategies are integrated and measurable. If they aren't, you have the wrong people doing your marketing. Replace them. And if that person is you, get it together or outsource it. For marketing to succeed, it must feature a strategic plan that integrates marketing tools to maximize success and that measures everything being done.
3. Ensure that marketing is a long-term effort. Starting and stopping, doing a little here and a little there, is a failed policy. You might as well host a company BBQ and burn money instead of charcoal.
4. Get a steady hand on marketing and make sure it is working every day of every month of every year. And measure, measure, measure, revise, revise, revise.

Please let me know your thoughts ont his subject - give your tips to the audience and don't forget to join us online or in person at Fridays at Five!
Online: Facebook or Linked in

See you soon

D

Fridays At Five

December 12th at Azul Wine Bar (next to Koho Bistro) - on Bailey Hill. See you there. Check back for the dish!

Contemporary Marketing

Meatball Sundae
I'm reading a brilliant book by a brilliant guy, Seth Godin's Meatball Sundae. It is for sure changing (and validating) the way I view traditional marketing. Traditional marketing is like a car alarm- In the 80's if a car alarm went off we all looked out the window to see if it was our vehicle...today an alarm sounds and nobody notices. Not only is the alarm ignored, it's not even heard. Invisible. Well, isn't that what is happening today with traditional marketing? TV, radio, Newspaper even billboards? We are so inundated with messages and they are coming at us so fast and furious in so many ways that we just stop seeing them. I know I do. Godin defines New Marketing as sort of caveman marketing, the sort of marketing that existed before money and corporations took over. New Marketing doesn't understand top-down command-and-control thinking. It's consumer telling consumer what to buy. It's about creating stories that spread because people want to spread them.
Permission Marketing
The term "Permission Marketing" was coined by the afore-mentioned Marketing Guru, Seth Godin. Permission Marketing allows marketers to gain consent from customers or prospects before sending them a marketing message. This type of marketing is a win-win. The advantage to the consumer is that they are in control of what messages they receive and when so the messages are anticipated, personalized and relevant. They can also opt out at any time. The advantage to the Marketer is that cost is low, feedback is instantaneous and they are speaking to a loyal, captive audience who will likely pass the message on. What is more credible that consumers promoting your product?
Does it work?
According to a study done by University of Texas at Dallas Professor B.P.S. Murthi, this marketing method has proven to be two to three times more effective than conventional direct email and ten times more effective than banner ads. According to a survey by Flownetworks, inc
an incredible "94% of consumers opt-in for permission based email".
Is it Easy?
I don't think so. I think you have to be diligent and work just as hard. More to come on this as I explore the world of contemporary marketing and how I can help my small business clients navigate this new world.

Fridays At Five

We are at Lucky Noodle this week and I am really looking forward to it. Nothing like blowing off a little steam at the end of the week with fabulous, hard working, dedicated business folk. I especially love that we are coming together to help each other - it's the most positive experience in my week. I really hope this group thrives and we can starting sharing our successes! Large or Small!
On a side note, I am encouraging everyone to pop over to 5th street at some point before going home on Friday - They are lighting the trees and our dear friends and amazing super women at NextStep Recycling are launching The Kith n' Kin Project with their very own decorated tree! We must support them. Kith n' Kin is all about recycling and refurbishing your old unwanted technology and redistributing to children in our community (AKA "Kith") who would otherwise not have access to this critical medium. Research has shown that kids who have access to technology are WAY more successful than those who don't. Our kids are our future (I know, I know - so cliche - but ain't it true?!).....
See you Friday!

Lorraine Kerwood

There are so many times where I am moved to tears....sometimes it's a bit embarrassing - for instance, I have been known to cry at Safeway openings (new jobs and fresh produce has that affect). The truth is, I'm an emotionally connected woman - emotionally connected to my work, my love, my family, my clients, my friends and occasionally a reality show or two. I can't help it...It's just who I am. However there are also truly fabulous moments that not only move me to tears but stick with me forever. I believe I experienced one of those today when Lorraine Kerwood was awarded the Woman Business Leader of the Year Award. The nominees and finalists were amazing - truly women I look up to. But Lorraine is one of those individuals who is so focused on others and on her mission that during her acceptance speech she actually used that platform to recruit from a room of 158 business owners - She asked us to create a mentoring program. You had to be there. Fabulous.
Congratulations, Lorraine. Well deserved. Well done.
Please go to Youtube and search nextStep recycling and watch Lorraine's story as documented by the Vovlo Hero award.

Fridays At Five

This weeks event is at The Loft - the absolute coolest new Piano Bar in Eugene. Owned by Kate Boney (yes, the very same restaurateur extraordinaire who owns Turtles, home of the best house salad in America!).
Don't miss out on the most fun, laid back and effective networking group in the Eugene/Springfield Area. We are businesses supporting each other...every week we ask how we can help our host as well as the lucky businesses whose cards gets drawn in the drawing. We can' t help you if your card isn't in the bucket!
Check back here every Monday for a full report on who was there, what they said and what happened.

Warren Buffet's 3 I's

As fallout from the current economic crisis continues to mount, thoughtful people are beginning to ask what we can learn from this experience. In a post at Harvard Business Online, Bill Taylor highlights a Warren Buffett interview on Charlie Rose in which the billionaire investor responds to the question "Should wise people have known better?" in the affirmative, with the note that there's a natural progression when things go wrong:

• Innovation
• Imitation
• Idiocy

An innovator spots an untapped opportunity; the imitator attempts to capitalize on its merit; finally, explains Taylor, the idiot goes and apes the imitator, and with avarice "undoes the very innovations [he is] trying to use to get rich."

According to Taylor, avoiding this cycle means developing the ability to distinguish between "genuine innovation" and "mindless imitation." In other words, he asks, "Are you prepared to walk away from ideas that promise to make money [when] they make no sense?" Taylor, like Buffett, concedes this is easier said than done when you see competition heading in a particular direction and fear you'll never catch up if you don't join the charge. It takes discipline, notes Taylor, to remain conscious of the difference—taking advantage of innovation without getting caught up in the idiocy.

The Po!nt: "[D]on't use the financial crisis as an excuse to stop taking chances or downsize your ambitions," says Taylor. "But do use the crisis as an opportunity to take stock of what really matters—and to stop looking over your shoulder."